Blue Leader Christmas
by LanieSullivan
Summary: Based on the "no dialogue" holiday challenge from the SMK FB fanfic group to describe what happened on any holiday not mentioned on the show from one character POV only. Set Christmas season 3. One-shot


Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended

**AN: **This story is a sequel of sorts to my story "Out of the Blue." While this story can work as a standalone, it's better to read the other one first because one plot point won't make sense without it. Happy reading!

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**December 25, 1985**

_Why don't they just jump each other and get it over with, _he couldn't help thinking as he waved good-bye to the young couple. Of course, to hear them talk, the word "couple" couldn't possibly describe them because they're "not involved" and are "just partners. While they said so with their words, every movement, every gesture, every sly bit of gazing when they thought the other wasn't looking gave away their true feelings. He just smirked through all of it wondering just how long it would take the two of them to figure it out for themselves when it was so painfully obvious to him and to everyone else around them.

"No, you're not just partners," he muttered as he closed the door once he saw the Corvette's taillights disappearing around the corner. He meandered into his living room and sat down in front of the fire and for a moment, watched the twinkling of the lights on his Christmas tree reminding him of a similar twinkling he'd seen in Lee's eyes every time he'd sneaked a glance at Amanda this evening over their impromptu Christmas dinner. But his gaze on the tree soon blurred as he began to reflect on the events of the evening.

It had surprised him to no end to see the two of them strolling up his front steps carrying several covered dishes. When he'd greeted them before they had ever rung the bell and asked them what it was all about, Amanda cheerily replied that she'd heard through the grapevine, namely Lee, that Harry had no one to spend the holidays with and she firmly believed no one should spend Christmas alone if they could help it.

He couldn't help smiling when her babbling continued as she explained that she had a ton of leftover food because her boys hadn't stuffed themselves the way they normally did with her Christmas feast because they knew they were going to have to eat a second dinner at their father's parents' house. Though he was smiling, he had noticed that there was just a tiny bit of a flinch coming from Lee when Joe King's name had been mentioned and while she'd tried so hard to sound chipper, he heard the slight edge of melancholy in Amanda's tone that she'd had to let her boys go on Christmas Day.

Harry had let them into the house with Lee grumbling the whole way to the kitchen about how he'd only called to wish Amanda a Merry Christmas and how she, in her usual fashion, had insisted on knowing what his plans were and he hadn't meant for her tag along or to bring half her kitchen with her. It was almost as if he were apologizing for Amanda being there.

Harry reminded Lee of the old adage the more was merrier, especially for an old bachelor with no family at Christmas, but still they carried on throwing jibes at one another with Amanda agreeing with his own sentiment and shooting Lee an "I told you so," look while Lee rolled his eyes in response and fired back that she should have called Harry first to ask if it was okay when she was the one always lecturing him on his bad manners.

Harry couldn't help laughing at the lively banter between the two that went on through the entirety of them preparing to reheat the food Amanda had so generously brought from her own home. While someone else might have been worried that the pair was gearing up for a fight, Harry was glad Lee had found someone who wasn't afraid to put him in his place when needed. Once the food was in the oven, he questioned what was in the other bag Amanda had brought and chuckled with delight when she excitedly produced a package of blue ornaments for his tree and cheerfully explained that one could never had too many ornaments on the tree and she'd snapped them up as soon as she'd seen them in the store since blue ornaments were so hard to find.

He suspected that there was more to her choice after the frantic call Lee had made to him a few months ago regarding Amanda. This suspicion was confirmed when Lee noticed too and insisted that Amanda just let it go already and gave the older man an apologetic look. Amanda argued back that she was just trying to be thoughtful because she'd remembered Harry saying that his favorite color was blue the last time all three of them had been together when they'd dropped off his bullet-riddled portrait. He laughed for a moment at Lee's typical flustered pattern of raking both hands through his hair, but while flattered by Lee's notion of protecting him, Harry soon grew weary of the bickering between the younger agents and finally put a halt to it by demanding that Lee just stop. He turned to Amanda and confirmed once and for all that it was true; he, Harry V. Thornton, _was _indeed Blue Leader.

With a scolding look, he turned his attention back to Lee to inform him that he trusted Amanda implicitly to keep his secrets or he never would have requested her help when he'd been in trouble awhile back with that Larry Crawford incident. He also reminded him that he would never have done so if not for Lee's own admitted faith in Amanda when he'd made the comment about following her blind through a blizzard at midnight.

He watched the reaction of both of them and his grin widened as he saw the pleased look on Amanda's face and then let out a loud belly laugh at the obvious embarrassment on Lee's, but his mirth was short-lived when he saw a tinge of surprise on Amanda's face. Just as it had been clear to him that Amanda hadn't believed him when he'd informed her of the high praise Lee had heaped on her when she wasn't around, it was clear to him in that moment that Amanda also had no idea the depth of Lee's true feelings for her and it was obvious to him that she shared those feelings. While he was happy to have them there, it saddened him to think that they hadn't disclosed those feelings to one another. _Oops, _Harry thought when the realization dawned on him that he'd said too much. He only hoped he hadn't ruined things for them since he knew Lee well enough to know that he had a tendency to head for the hills when his emotions were exposed like that. True to form, Lee shuffled his feet nervously and changed the subject by suggesting they add the new ornaments to the tree.

In an attempt to cover his own embarrassment and slightly guilty feelings, Harry readily agreed and the three of them made their way back to his living room where Amanda immediately took charge of making sure the baubles were placed in exactly the right places to create the most aesthetically-pleasing look while Lee began again with his half-hearted grumbling. Once the task was completed, they all stood back and admired their handiwork with Harry commenting that the glittery blue ornaments were exactly what his tree had been missing.

After a moment or two of this, Amanda hustled them back into the dining room, figuring the food would be just about ready by now and the couple's banter began again with Lee suggesting that maybe they should let Harry just enjoy his dinner in peace since this wasn't really the reason he'd been invited and with a pointed look, reminding Amanda that she hadn't been invited at all, but had invited herself. She, of course, reminded Lee again of Harry's own words that more was merrier.

He interrupted the verbal sparring a couple of times with tasks for Lee to do such as getting plates from the cupboard and setting the table, and opening a bottle of wine, just to keep their debates from becoming too heated. The more he observed them though, the more he became convinced that they were merely attempting in vain to disguise an entirely different kind of heat between them.

Harry's suspicions became certainty in his mind once they'd finally sat down to enjoy their dinner when there was not quite as much opportunity for the witty repartee since they often had their mouths full, but throughout their dinner, he caught the meaningful glances passing between them before the gazes lingered too long and inevitably one of them would look away, then the conversation would turn to him with one of the other asking him some random question to avoid addressing what had just passed between them.

After about the fourth time it had happened, he chuckled inwardly at the notion that for a dinner being held at his own home, he'd never felt more like a third wheel in his life. He glanced from one to the other wondering why they protested so much about being in love. The more time he spent with them together, the more he was certain it was true, although it was also abundantly clear that they hadn't acted on it, their body language gave it away. He hadn't been in the spy business for as long as he had without learning a thing or two about human behaviors, especially knowing instantly when someone was lying to him.

After dinner was done and dishes were washed and put away, he finally decided to do something about it, teasing them by suggesting that perhaps the reason they made such an effective pair at work was due to their personal relationship. His smirk grew as he watched the pair hem and haw, denying there was any such personal relationship which was finally halted by Lee saying he needed to get Amanda home and her agreeing since her children would expect her to be there when she returned from their grandparents'.

Harry let out a sigh wondering if there were anything more he could do to nudge them in the right direction. He shrugged and realized that they'd have to come to it in their own time as he remembered Billy Melrose telling him that he'd been working on that project himself for nearly three years now and while they were closer than they'd ever been, he still hadn't been fully successful. He glanced up at the brand-new decorations on his tree, their glittery surface appearing to twinkle as the blinking lights hit them and still had to smile. His secret code name might be Blue Leader, but thanks to his friends, he wasn't having his usual blue Christmas.


End file.
